Outbreaks of attacks upon human beings by vampire bats seems to be a common phenomenon in several regions of Latin America, but the occurrence of rabies infection among humans bled by vampires, is relatively low. In the present study, two outbreaks of human rabies transmitted by common vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) are described from Bahia State, Northeasthern Brazil, in 1991 and 1992. The first was recorded in Aporá where 308 people were bled by vampire bats and three of these die from this zoonosis. The 2nd outbreak occurred in Conde where only five people were bled by vampires, and two deaths by rabies were registered. Our data suggest that rabies transmitted by bats basically depends on the presence of virus in the vampire bat population and not on the number of humans bled by them. Key-words: Vampire bats. Rabies. Northeastern Brazil.Resumo Surtos de ataques de morcegos hematófagos em seres humanos parecem ser um fenômeno comum em muitas regiões da América Latina, porém, a ocorrência de raiva humana transmitida por morcegos é baixa. No presente estudo, são descritos dois surtos de raiva em seres humanos transmitida pelo vampiro comum (Desmodus rotundus) no Estado da Bahia, nordeste do Brasil, em 1991 e 1992. O primeiro foi registrado em Aporá onde 308 pessoas foram sangradas pelos morcegos e três delas morreram por causa dessa zoonose. O segundo surto ocorreu em Conde, onde apenas cinco pessoas haviam sido atacadas pelos morcegos e duas mortes por raiva foram registradas. Nossos dados sugerem que a raiva transmitida pelos morcegos depende basicamente da presença do vírus na população de morcegos hematófagos e não do número de pessoas agredidas pelos mesmos. Palavras-chaves: Morcegos hematófagos. Raiva. Nordeste do Brasil.

This study analyses how robust the management excellence model (MEG) is as a guide for implementing best practices from different reference models to achieve greater quality and excellence in management. The study starts by discussing the model's assumptions and purposes and how it has been applied to a diverse and large group of Brazilian companies with the expectation of improving business performance. The study is based on 389 independent assessments of 8 MEG criteria in 52 Brazilian companies participating in the Minas Quality Award (PMQ) in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, between the 2008-and-2011 cycle. From a theoretical background, 13 proposed hypotheses were tested using the structural equation model (SEM) with a partial least squares (PLS) estimation. Empirical tests support the conceptual framework of MEG, positioning leadership and information management as forces that lead to the strategic management of people, markets, processes, and societal concerns, which in turn are strong predictors of business performance.

The present paper describes the main results of an on-going research aiming to develop standard flood damage data in the form of generic flood-damage curves. This type of curve allows estimating flood damages from the depth of inundation. Although the research project encompasses flood damages on different urban land use activities (residential, commercial, services and industrial land uses), the paper focus on residential flood damage information. The empirical data used on this research was obtained from systematic surveys performed in the city of Itajubá, a town with 85.000 inhabitants located in the Sapucaí river valley in the South-eastern region of Brazil, during the year of 2002. The survey consisted in interviewing residents in the Itajubá flood prone urban area in order to develop a data base characterizing the social class, the building fabric, the contents (inventory items) and the damages caused to dwellings by a reference flood event, the 2000 flood event. During this event, the town had more than 70% of its urban area flooded for three days and, in some densely urbanised areas, the depth of water was superior to three meters. The FDC curves obtained show relatively high damage according to the submersion depth considering the Brazilian context. This issue suggests that inhabitants can rarely recover, in the short time, from all the harm caused by flooding.

In extremely dynamic sectors, whose structure is not so evident, both the approach based on the Structure-Conduct-Performance paradigm and the approach based on firm resources are limited to explain the sources of competitive advantages and the performance achieved by firms from their strategic choices. In this context, by focusing on the firm's adjustment to changes in highly dynamic environments, as well on the firm’s facing challenges posed by volatile sectors, through integration, reconfiguration, renovation and allocation of its resources, skills and capabilities, the perspective of dynamic capabilities comes out as a promising approach to strategy studies not only to understand the sources of firm’s sustainable advantages, but also to comprehend how such advantages are developed and implemented. The article consists of a theoretical essay that analyzes the concept of dynamic capabilities from the main definitions collected in the literature, by carrying out a conclusive synthesis and arguing about consulted theoretical contributions. The authors propose a theoretical model for the relationship among dynamic capabilities dimensions in order to explain how firms achieve and sustain competitive advantage, and also present the sense-making as a fundamental capacity for improving the effectiveness of other dynamic capabilities, serving as unifying element among them and favoring the alignment of the firm’s strategic choices.